CHAPTER 291: CHAPTER 291 COLLAPSE

I didn’t know if I should trust him.

Daniel said it smoothly, the way he always did, as though connections were something he carried around in his back pocket.

He claimed he’d met Haldane at a business event, that Clive Granger’s company had ties to the man’s family. Then, with a self-satisfied smile, he corrected himself. Soon to be HIS company, not Clive’s.

‘Not only that,’ he went on, ‘the Grangers have been very generous with donations. City hall, Haldane’s campaign fund. If I want him to take a meeting, he’ll take it. No question.’

I didn’t believe in free favours, not in Skyline, not anywhere. ‘And the price?’ I asked flatly.

Daniel’s smile widened. ‘A date with me.’

‘No.’

He held up a hand in mock surrender. ‘Don’t say no so fast. I’m not asking you to be my girlfriend. Just dinner. Maybe a movie after. That’s it. I won’t even ask for a kiss.’

‘Why?’ I asked. ‘You can have plenty of women. Any woman you want.’

‘Except the one I want,’ he said, eyes fixed on me with infuriating intensity. ‘I’ve got eyes only for you.’

I laughed without humour. ‘I don’t believe that. You’re only trying to use me to get at Rhys.’

His grin tilted. ‘You got me. Fine. That’s what I want. But you’ll benefit too. Call it a win-win. What do you say?’

I hesitated. I didn’t hate Daniel, but I had sworn to cut all ties with the Granger family. Trouble clung to them like smoke, and I’d already breathed in enough of that poison.

Still...

‘Instead of introducing me to Haldane,’ I said slowly, ‘could you introduce someone else?’

His brows drew together. ‘Who?’

‘Ashton.’

Daniel’s smile faltered. For a second, I saw calculation behind his eyes, then doubt. ‘I know what you’re trying to do. The moratorium rumour’s everywhere, and LGH will take the hardest hit. But I don’t think a meeting between Ashton and Haldane is a good idea.’

‘Why not?’

He swirled the ice in his glass, stalling. ‘There are things you don’t know. Haldane isn’t an idiot. Normally he’d never back a moratorium that puts him at odds with every developer in the city. He knows it makes enemies of all the wrong people. Yet here we are. From the last few conversations I had with him, I got the feeling he hated the whole thing but still had to push it through. As if someone’s forcing him.’

I stood straighter. ‘Who do you think forced him?’

Daniel gave a careless shrug. ‘Beats me. It’s an open secret at the Urban Development office that he’s been in a foul mood, blowing up behind closed doors. He’s near retirement age. Could be politics, could be money. Could be anything.’

I frowned, turning his words over. City hall wasn’t my territory. I didn’t know Haldane beyond a name on a website. But if Daniel was right, then Haldane was only a puppet. Someone else was pulling the strings. Someone who wanted to choke LGH’s cash flow and strangle Ashton’s company.

The thought that sprang to mind made my pulse quicken. Lea Lopez.

It fit her too well. The ruthless style, the willingness to use leverage, the taste for destruction when she wanted something. I didn’t know if she had the power to sway city hall, but if anyone did, it was her.

Daniel’s voice pulled me back. ‘Haldane’s not taking meetings with developers. He won’t see Ashton, or anyone even remotely tied to LGH. But you—’ he gestured at me with his glass, ‘you’re different. You’re a jewellery designer. That’s why I’m confident he’ll see you. Just don’t hold out too much hope. The moment you bring up Ashton or LGH, he’ll shut the door.’

I knew he was right.

Daniel set his glass down and leaned in, eyes intent. ‘So. I’ve laid everything out. Do you still want the meeting?’

I opened my mouth to reply, but the words never came.

From across the hall, a sharp cry split the murmur of the crowd, followed by the scrape of chairs and a rising commotion. Heads turned, voices rose. A ripple of alarm spread through the chamber.

And then I saw him.

Ashton.

He staggered, his tall frame suddenly unsteady, before collapsing to the polished floor.

My heart stopped.